This week’s photo challenge is pretty neat. I have a couple posts talking about friendship including one showcasing my husband and best friend, as well as my pets. I figured I’d do a part 2 of the jerk since he’s constantly around me. He’s my reading buddy, nap cat, and monkey boy. He was my unexpected fur friend after the passing of my pup. I never thought I’d like cats but this jerk has my heart with his grumpy cat eyes.

If you guessed catapult, you’d be sort of right. It looks like you can pull a lever back and fling things, big things, big, human things, into the ocean. It’s actually this:

Located at Ka Lae which is considered the southernmost tip of the United States as well as the Big Island Hawaii. It is believed that when the Polynesians arrived, this is where they docked first. It became a great fishing spot where they would drill holes into the cliff to moor their boats while they fished. Now, if you’re a swimmer, I’m not, and you’re fearless, which I’m selective about, you can catapult yourself off this point. There’s a little maneuverability involved, skirting around random deep tidal pools and all that but here’s what it looks like; without jumping of course:

Let me be clear that these are strong currents. So if you do decide to jump, I hope you’re a strong swimmer or that gorgeous blue water will sweep you away or even into the cliff. If you look to your right you’ll see these:

Those are 14 turbines along that coast harnessing that unrelenting wind! They power 20% of the island!

If you’re still with me, well not with me, you probably jumped because you’re a brave, strong swimmer! You just jumped 40 feet. It was awesome and amazing and you can cross it off your bucket list! But now you find yourself asking, how do I get back up? Before you break out those rock climbing skills:

A handy ladder just for you so you can be back on your way to tell the tale of your awesome cliff jumping adventures to the world!

When my husband and I honeymooned in Firenze (Florence) back in 2015, this was one of our stops. In case you don’t know who this is, it’s the statue of David by Michelangelo. We learned all about him and were told that this is usually the main attraction for tourists. Obviously we were no exception but he wasn’t what enthralled us the most.

Everywhere you look in Florence you’ll see signs of the Medici family in some form or fashion. From the buildings, bridges, artwork and even to the actual bones of the family, some buried, some in the Medici Chappelle. They were the richest, influential family of their time!

From the left you have the beautifully painted ceiling, called The Chapel of the Princes. It’s located in the Mausoleum of the Medici Chappelle. It’s shaped like an octagon because at each point there are bronze statues that are supposedly sarcophagi that contain the Grand Dukes. The entire room is made up of different colored marble and semi-precious stones. This is one of many works of architectural art that celebrate the power the Medicis had for several centuries.

Next you have the Ponte Vecchio which has an amazing history! This bridge was built in 1345, commissioned by the Medici family because they wanted easy access from Uffzi to Palazzo Pitti. As we were told, during WWII, instead of blowing up the bridge and blocking access, the Germans were so awed by the bridge that they decided not to destroy it. There was also a huge flood in 1966 that this old bridge withstood. Today you’ll find TONS of jewelry shops on the bridge. But back in the 13th century there were butchers, tanners and fishmongers on the bridge. They would literally throw their animal waste into the river. Even today that river smells and tourists are highly recommended not to go in the water because you may catch some nasty water parasite. In the 1500’s it was decreed that only goldsmiths were allowed on the bridge hence why there’s only jewelry shops now.

The last picture is one of many Medici bones, immortalized forever, in the Medici Chappelle.

It’s pretty ironic that I just took these pictures yesterday while strolling through downtown Cleveland. I stumbled upon these as I was walking towards the wind turbine that I didn’t know was at the Great Lakes Science Center. I remember thinking that these are pretty awesome pieces of art. But then I had a second look of sorts and looking at these trees and flowers reflecting back I almost wondered if they were thinking sad thoughts. Don’t get me wrong, it was a beautiful day. We’ve finally gotten some sunshine in a sea of rain but the plants started to look sad to me. Instead of looking at a forest, they were looking at concrete structures and wires around them you know? Maybe they’re looking at their reflections wondering how long they’ll get to stick around until that construction project up the way affects them. But what do I know. Maybe they were admiring their fresh, spring hair-dos.

So the photo challenge word today is danger. I went through my photos to find something related and I thought of two different instances I consider dangerous.

My daily drive to and from work is usually 45 min to an hour one way. That’s a long time to be in the car. I don’t say I get distracted because it’s kind of hard to do that when you drive manual transmission but I sort of drift sometimes maybe? I essentially get caught up in the landscape and notice how beautiful it is and since my eyeballs don’t have photo snapping abilities I usually grab my phone and take a picture — yes, while driving. The second one was taken through my sunroof though doing traffic so I was mostly stopped when I looked up to take that one! I have no excuse for the first one… So, don’t do what I do. It’s dangerous to take your eyes off the road even if you’re looking at the road through a camera lens.

Now, I am not an insect person. If you read my misadventures in the shower, you know I have irrational feelings of vulnerability around insects. However, when photo opportunities arrive, I can’t resist. The reason I sort of fear bees is because I got stung in the neck once and it was very traumatic. Praying mantis’ (manti?) look like aliens so I felt that that alone justified my fear. I learned later that praying manti are the gentlest of insects and there’s nothing to be afraid of. They’re pincer legs look dangerous but it’s all show (for humans anyway). Bees on the other hand, their stingers can still be dangerous (especially if you’re allergic!) but since they’re on the fast track of becoming endangered, we need to do all we can to boost their numbers.

Honeybee

So there you have it. Don’t pic and drive and don’t kill the scary looking insects. Find creative ways to be safe and save the critters! (seriously, don’t take my advice on the former but definitely the latter :P)

To piggyback on yesterday’s post, ever wonder what it would feel like to truly fly? When you think of flying, you first imagine birds; from as small as hummingbirds to as large as eagles. Then you imagine mechanical flight like airplanes, gliders, and spaceships. You may even imagine angels; humans with wings.

Flying in an airplane is so surreal. I’ve been on many flights throughout the years and it’s still an exhilarating experience. In anticipation of flying, I find myself staring at the clouds. You see these light, fluffy puffs of air and think how easy it would be to slice through one. Then you ride in an airplane, soar a cloud, and realize they are not as light as they seem. The journey can be quite rough especially if it’s cloudy. But when your heart is pounding in tune with the plane as you’re getting higher and higher and you pierce through that dense layer to the world above, it takes your breath away. People always say clouds look like cotton blankets in the air; blankets you want to just bounce on or sink into their soft, cuddly layers. Could you imagine if it was possible to lay on a cloud for just a moment? Would it be as soft as it looks? I imagine maybe fog is what a cloud feels like on the ground but I wonder if it’s the same in the air.

Cleveland at the edge of Lake Erie

When flying in any direction, it always looks like you’re riding the edge of the Earth. Logically you know it’s a continuous journey but there’s always that sense of going to that edge and seeing what’s on the other side; falling into a new place and time.

Flying in the daylight is great. The sun is always so beautiful but flying at night opens up a different scenario. You’re staring down at land, maybe an area you are familiar with, distinguishing the dark spots among the light. There’s a lake, and there is maybe forest or farm land, possibly mountains. It turns into a sort of game of guessing the geometrical shapes. I like to think of what could be moving in the bodies of water. If only I could have X-ray vision, just for a moment to see below the surface in the dark; the life thriving in the lakes and oceans as these creatures go about their nightly routines.

Yesterday and today I got the opportunity to travel to a state I never thought I’d ever have a reason to visit: Wisconsin. My work participated in a tradeshow and I got to experience what’s involved in these types of events. The show itself was pretty cool but a few of my photo opportunities came from walking around outside. Whenever I travel to a place I’ve never been to before it’s always interesting to compare the area to my home.

One cool thing about travelling to new places is experiencing the people, their everyday lives and their culture. You will always meet someone who is proud of the town they stay in and eager to tell you all about it. These past two days I met a variety of individuals from a variety of backgrounds, age groups, and geographical locations. All had stories of their home towns in some form or another. You can tell they all had deep roots because even though they were in a new place, they couldn’t help but talk about getting back home to their friends and families; back into their regular routine. But they hope to pique your interest, entice you to come visit or at the very least, share their story.

Some flowering trees were pointed out to me at work today and here I am thinking all flowering trees are created equal, especially in Ohio. Imagine my surprise to find out that it’s not a regular flower tree, i.e. it just has flowers, it’s actually a fruit tree; specifically cherries! I’ve seen fruit trees before, usually at a distance but never up close. I’m very excited to see the fruit once it appears and if the birds and squirrels decide to share the wealth, maybe taste some natural cherry goodness 🙂